Calcutta: The National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) has issued showcause notices to 1,000 BEd and DElEd (diploma in elementary education) colleges for not submitting infrastructure details.

Anil Swarup, secretary, department of school education and literacy, HRD ministry, announced it in the city on Saturday.

Of the 16,000 BEd and DElEd colleges in the country, 4,000 haven't provided the data through affidavits as mandated by the NCTE, Swarup said.

The other institutes, too, will get the notices, he said. Swarup was speaking at a discussion on "Changing Face of Indian School Education: Current Trends and Way Forward". The Merchants' Chamber of Commerce had organised the event.

Colleges had been asked to submit details of courses taught, student strength and the number and qualification of teachers.

"Colleges which haven't submitted the affidavits either don't exist or might exist only in name," Swarup said.

These institutes won't remain within the NCTE's ambit.

Since teachers are the most important part of the education system, the Centre wants a continuous upgrade of teachers' skills, he said.

"We want to create a platform like SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) or CAT (Common Admission Test) to evaluate a candidate and leave it to the states to decide. They can still continue to have their exams, though."